Beautiful Pink Bottle

We are "pre-selling" this beautiful Pink Bottle. It is expected to arrive into our warehouse the first week of June.

If we do not sell out during the "pre-sale", we will place a 48 piece price on the website when the bottle arrives. If you order this "pre-sale" with other items, your other items will ship now and this bottle will ship when it arrives.

Marketing Ideas: Perfect color for Women, Tweens and Breast Cancer Fundraisers.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Website - Update

I wanted to make a quick post and let you know that we are in the final days of website changes. You cannot see the new site...but I am thrilled with the layout and functionality. We were able to include most all of your suggestions. If all goes well, we will be "going live" with the new site very late Sunday night.

Meantime....on the current website....you are going to find that some of the product information is now found on the "Click for More Information" page.

If you have any product questions, or cannot find information....please do not hesitate to email me at debbie@wholesalesuppliesplus.com

Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Memorial Day

As Memorial Day approaches may we all remember those that have given their lives in service to our nation.

If it was not for these brave souls that sacrificed their lives....we would not have the choice of going into business for ourselves, we would not enjoy the liberty to live life as we wish, and other countries would not have the hope of freedom.

May God Bless all of them!

In recognition of Memorial Day, Wholesale Supplies Plus will be closed Monday, May 26th.

Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Fragrances on Sale

We have approved a new set of phthalate free reworks on fragrances.

As we have done in the past, we put the phthalate containing versions on sale at $10/lb. (below our cost). We want to quickly begin stocking the phthalate free versions.

Fragrance Oils on sale included:

Dream Angel Type
Sweet Juicy Pear
Lemon Verbena Mint
Tuberose
Teakwood
Vanilla Bean
Enchanted Apple
Straight Strawberry
Relaxation
Pumpkin Crunch

Click here to view the Sale Page.

It really looks like we will meet our goal of being a phthalate free facility by July 1, 2008!

We still have 6 scents that contain phthalates....we are working on reworks!. These fragrance oils are: Bay Rum, Blueberry Muffin, Fresh Brewed Coffee, O'Christmas Tree, Sands of Moracco, Satin Sheets.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Sale: EcoSoya Waxes

In an effort to help our C-3 Soy Wax customers find a new wax, we have created the following special sales:

EcoSoya CB Advanced
10 lb. Sample - 25% Off
50 lb. Case - 10% Off

Ecosoya Pure Soy
10 lb. Sample - 25% Off
50 lb. Case - 11% Off

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Discontinued: Nature Wax C-3

I can't quite believe that I am having to write this. The owners of Nature's Wax have chosen to no longer have Cargil manage their product line. Instead, they have decided to do manage the line themselves.

With this decision, they have elected to eliminate distributor discounts and have increased our cost over 35 cents a pound.

Their statement was basically that they can make more money but eliminating distributors....but if it doesn't work out and their sales drop, they will bring back distributor discounts.

This makes absolutely no sense to me. I am left with no option but to discontinue the wax. Once our current stock is gone...we will not be getting more.

On another note...it appears the EcoSoya Wax prices are dropping. As they do, we will drop the price on our website.

Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Pedi-Egg

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond today and found this really interesting product called the Pedi-Egg. It only costs $9.99 so I decided to try it...and treat myself to a Mini Home Spa Night!

I have to tell you that my feet have never felt better! I give this little guy a big thumbs up...A+++!!

For the price, this would be a great addition to a home spa gift basket set. If making this basket consider including: Epsom Salt Foot Soak, Exfoliating Scrub, Hydrating Lotion, Soap and the Pedi-Egg.

With the right gift basket package and in the right market.... you could easily charge $50 a set like this.

For a marketing twist, try marketing your basket as 5 home treatments for the price of one salon visit.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Sale: 3 in 1 Body Bubble Base

We are proud to add this new base to our line.

Points of Interest:
Formulated with extra conditioners. Excellent foaming and skin softening properties. Paraben Free. Beautiful pearl white color.

Common Uses:
Shower Gel, Bubble Bath, Shampoo.

Special:
25% off 1 gallon, 25% off 4 gallon.

Click here for additional information.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Clearance Spa Accessories

By noon today, I will have marked down a significant number of our Bath Accessories. These are items being discontinued. I want to move these quickly to make room for new products arriving in June.

Keep checking the WSP Sale Page for an up to the minute listing of products. These products will qualify for the $6.95 flat rate shipping program.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

IGI Wax Increase

Today, we have been notified that there is an additional IGI Wax price increase. All of our wax formulas are increasing 3-5 cents/pound. We will be passing this increase on to our website.

For candle makers working on a budget, my recommendation is to buy wax sooner than later. The prices will likely remain very unstable. As crude oil prices continue to increase, I expect IGI to continue to make periodic increases.

Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Davie's Gate Powder Sugar Bath Soak

Davie's Gate makes an interesting product called
Powder Sugar Bath Soak. I decided to buy this as a test product because I think the concept was really interesting. I have not seen anything like it in our area...and the package is cute!

The container is a simple All Spice Metal Can with an adorable pink glossy label. The bow has an elastic band on the back and is held in place with a dot of glue in the front under the actual bow. Inside, the product is very white. It is very fine ...like powdered sugar, corn starch and baking soda.

Last night I took a bath with this product and found it gave a great feel to my bath water. My skin with a nice after feel. I used about double the recommended amount of 2 Tablespoons per bath. The pink grapefruit scent was very refreshing.


For those that are interested, I here is the ingredient label provided on the Davie's Gate website.

This product sells retail at a price of 3 oz $9.00 and 18 oz $21.00

I find this to be such an interesting product concept because I never considered adding powdered sugar to my bath.

I hope this product can provide you with ideas for your own line!

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Easy Product with High Profits

I found this big tub of bath salts online. I really liked the simplicity of the label. I like the jar and lid. Until it arrived, I had no idea that there was no fragrance and no color. Just 100% Dead Sea Salt.

At Bath and Body Works, it sells at $34 for 60 oz.

Our Crafter's Choice Dead Sea Salts are:

$16.25 for 10 lb. ($6.90 for 60 oz)
$79.65 for 55 lb. ($5.43 for 60 oz)

Home spa concepts are all the rage and are what many consumers are seeking. They want to pamper to their body and relax the mind. Products like this really hit the mark.

Think of adding products like this to your line. They are simple, easy and would add a great profit to your bottom line.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Creativity and Business

These images are great examples of creative business.

Making a product creatively stand out....often leads to higher sales. People will pay more for value. Many people will buy something that has an artistic touch to it vs. a mass retailer.

Have you done anything creatively different? I would love to hear from you!!

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Your Help Needed

We are getting fairly close to publishing our new website. One recent suggestion is that our Resource Library needs to include "Glossary of Ingredients". With this they wanted to know the source of the ingredient, if it was natural, and purpose.

I need your help. Is there anything else you feel this page should include?

What ingredients would you like listed?

I appreciate your help!

Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Now Stocking 24/415 Tops

We are now stocking 24/415 Smooth Disc Tops. You will find that this top is slightly taller than the 24/410 top.

These tops only work with bottles requiring a 24/415 closure. They will not work on 24/410 bottles.

By stocking these we feel that we will be able to offer you even more surplus containers.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

2 Fragrances on Sale

The following scents contain phthalates and we have approved reworks that are phthalate free. The old versions are on sale at $10/lb until gone. Once sold out, we will take them off sale and update the website. They are:

Crafter's Choice Gingerbread Cookie
Crafter's Choice Halo Type

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

New Surplus Items

New surplus bottles have arrived!

I especially like the Apothecary Bottle with Top & Measuring Cup. It is perfect for bath salts or milk bath. The curve at the top and bottom of the bottle gives added detail often found in retail stores.

New surplus include:

10 oz Clear PET Apothecary Bottle with Lid & Measuring Cup
8 oz Clear PET Modern Boston Round
4 oz Pearl White HDPE Bullet

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Alyssa's Foaming Salt Scrub

Our local high school has a great end of the year program for seniors. Instead of attending their last 3 weeks of classes, they can intern full time at a local business.

This year, I am mentoring my cousin Alyssa. She is going away to college in six weeks so it has been a real pleasure spending time with her as well as showing how a small business works.

Today we had fun playing with formulations. We found that Xanthum Gum absolutely does not work in oil based formulas. I know people use it in oils...but we didn't like the performance. It failed to suspend fine salts and gave a gooey glide to our scrub. I had visions of the Bath Jelly Product Trial.

Alyssa then had tremendous success making the formula below. I even get a batch to take home!

Alyssa's Foaming Salt Scrub (it suspends!)

Ingredients:
4 oz Crafter's Choice Shower Gel
4 oz Crafter's Choice European Fine Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
2.5 ml Crafter's Choice Eucalyptus Spearmint EO Blend
1/2 teaspoon Crafter's Choice 24K Gold Powder Mica
1/2 teaspoon Crafter's Choice Silver Powder Mica

Package:
8 oz Clear PET Basic Jar
89/400 White Straight Top

Directions:
Blend all ingredients and package. Scrub has a wonderful foam and beautiful champagne color. Salts suspend beautifully.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Amazing Grace & Baby Grace

At the request of Philosophy, Inc. we have changed the name of two of our Crafter's Choice Fragrance Oils. They are:

Crafter's Choice Amazing Style Grace* 676
Crafter's Choice Baby Grace* 675

The new Crafter's Choice names are:

Crafter's Choice Amazing Fragrance Oil 676
Crafter's Choice Baby Fragrance Oil 675

These are the same oil compounds we have always sold. Just new names. Please compare ours to theirs....we think you will like them better!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me personally at debbie@wholesalesuppliesplus.com

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

Made in the USA Claim

Given the recent downturn in the US Economy and the lowering value of the US dollar, I have started to really think about the claim "Made in the USA".

As it turns out, the claim "Made in the USA" is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC puts great significance on public perception and states that the following will be evaluated by the commission for the enforcement of the Made in the USA claim:

1. Site of Final Assembly or Processing.

• The consumer perception evidence available to the Commission indicates that the country in which a product is put together or completed is highly significant to consumers in evaluating where the product is "made." Thus, regardless of the extent of a product's other U.S. parts or processing, in order to be considered all or virtually all made in the United States, it is a prerequisite that the product have been last "substantially transformed" in the United States.

2. Proportioning of Manufacturing Costs

• Assuming the product is put together or otherwise completed in the United States, the Commission will also examine the percentage of the total cost of manufacturing the product that is attributable to U.S. costs (i.e., U.S. parts and processing) and to foreign costs. Where the percentage of foreign content is very low, it is more likely that the Commission will consider the product all or virtually all made in the United States.
• There is not a fixed point for all products at which they suddenly become "all or virtually all" made in the United States. Rather, the Commission will conduct this inquiry on a case-by-case basis, balancing the proportion of U.S. manufacturing costs along with the other factors discussed herein, and taking into account the nature of the product and consumers' expectations in determining whether an enforcement action is warranted.

3. Remoteness of Foreign Content

• In evaluating whether any foreign content is significant enough to prevent a product from being considered all or virtually all made in the United States, the Commission will look not only to the percentage of the cost of the product that the foreign content represents, but will also consider how far removed from the finished product the foreign content is.
• For example, in the context of a complex product, such as a computer, it is likely to be insignificant that imported steel is used in making one part of a single component (e.g., the frame of the floppy drive). This is because the steel in such a case is likely to constitute a very small portion of the total cost of the computer, and because consumers purchasing a computer are likely, if they are concerned about the origin of the product, to be concerned with the origin of the more immediate inputs (floppy drive, hard drive, CPU, keyboard, etc.) and perhaps the parts that, in turn, make up those inputs.

The full FTC's Enforcement Policy is quite long and I highly encourage you to read it before making your own claim of Made in the USA.

As many of you are aware, we are getting ready to launch our new website. Given these guidelines, we will be adding the Country of Origin to all of our products. This will allow you to more accurately label your own products.

Wishing You Much Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/

1-800-359-0944

For Those That Pray

Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me.

I had a call from Sherri, my good friend in Columbus. When I first moved to Cleveland....Sherri, myself and another nurse named Carolyn were all Neonatal ICU nurses at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in the early 90's. We were all single, had fun and lived life to the fullest. We all left the unit at the same time...but stayed in touch. Sherri went to Rainbow's Flight Team, Carolyn went to Metro Hospitals Flight Team and I went to the Cardiac ICU at the Cleveland Clinic. We all eventually settled into less thrilling jobs, got married and had kids.

Yesterday, Carolyn's husband found her unresponsive. As of yesterday, she was brain dead on life support....she had a dissected aortic aneurysm. They were waiting to donate her organs. It breaks my heart as she was in her early 40's with two girls in high school.

Then literally, 30 minutes later....I got the news that another dear friend that I see and talk to everyday...has Colon Cancer. She is married and in her early 30's with kids aged at 1, 3 and 6. She is going today to find out if it has spread to her liver. This is a woman that would give you the shirt off her back...the first to do anything for anyone....literally the best mom and wife I know. I spent an hour with her last night crying and talking. It was so hard as she spoke about her thoughts. I just feel so bad. It just seems so unfair.

So...please...if you are a person of prayer....please pray for these people and their families. It would mean so much.

Debbie

Update: Good news....the cancer has not spread to her liver. She will go through 6 weeks of chemo/radiation and then have surgery two months later. Her spirits are much better. I can hear the hope in her voice. She herself is praying. Please do not stop your prayers!

2008 HSMG Conference

I have been back a day now and finally have the energy to talk about this year's Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild Conference. I have to tell you the event was absolutely fantastic. Professional soapmakers from all over the country come to share and learn. This year 220 attended the event in Burlington, VT.

I spoke at six events....a little more than planned due to a last minute scheduling conflict with another speaker. My sessions were:

Expanding Your Soap Business with Lotions (demo lotions/butters from scratch)
Expanding Your Soap Business with Home Spa Products (6 popular products)
Melt & Pour I - Making 4 Different Soaps
Melt & Pour II - Making 5 Different Soaps

For those that could not attend, we should have videos made for all of the demos in the next 4 weeks.

Wholesale Supplies Plus hosted a cocktail/networking event called "Rockin 50's Party". It was great fun with 50's food, Blue Martini's and a DJ that turned into Elvis and sang to the crowd for almost an hour.

I think my favorite part of the conference (beside meeting and talking with soap makers) was the expert panel. I was so lucky to be seated next to Luis Spitz. Luis is a chemist and historian with the only soap museum in the country. He gave a talk earlier on the evolution of soap....it was amazing walk through history! He sat in on my last MP Session and asked for a picture of us together for his museum. He is sending me a book he authored that is no longer in publication....it is on the history of soap including pictorial artwork. I was truly honored.

In 2009 the Soap Guild will be holding a convention instead of a conference and it will be in California!

Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944

WSP Pallet Saver Rates

Due to recent increases in the pallet freight industry (include fuel surcharges), we have temporarily suspended our Pallet Saver program for wax, lotions and bottles. Once the industry stablizes, we will restart the program.

We will continue to offer delivered pricing on MP Soap Base.

Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944

Wax Price Increases

As you are aware from previous articles, IGI had a significant price increase. Due to the size, I had to pass 100% of the increase off to our website. The new prices are posted.

Debbie May
www.WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com
1-800-359-0944